Transfer of 24 HC judges in one go marks power shift from executive to judiciary": Justice Bibek Chaudhuri

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 22 : Justice Bibek Chaudhuri, who has been moved to Patna High Court from Calcutta, said his transfer along with other 23 judges in one go marks the "beginning of a power shift" from executive to the judiciary.
While speaking in the farewell ceremony hosted by the Calcutta High Court upon his transfer to Patna, Justice Chaudhuri said that he considered himself to be one of the first in the wave of judges who would be transferred post-emergency, in order to signify a shift of power from the executive to the "highest seat of the judiciary" being the Supreme Court Collegium.
"In 1975, during Emergency, 16 High Court judges were transferred by the Executive in one go, after almost 48 years, 24 High Court judges have been transferred by the SC Collegium in one go. I think I am one of the beginners in the shifting of power from the hand of the executive to the hand of the judiciary," he said.
He said on January 28, 1983, the Centre had decided the chief justices of high courts would be from an outside state and one-third of the judges of a high court must be from outside the state.
"In 1983, the Indian Government's policy mandated that 1/3rd of all High Court judges be from outside the State and I think, by our transfer, it is the beginning of the introduction and implementation of that policy," he added.
Asserting that it was the desire of the Collegium to transfer him to Patna High Court, he said when he was elevated to the higher judiciary, he knew that the Constitution contained a provision under Article 222 that a judge can be transferred.
"With all humility, there are judicial pronouncements which lay down that Article 222 be used very sparingly. Please consider my case. [During the process of transfer] I shall not be able to discharge my judicial duties at Patna for many days. This might not happen if all the transferee judges had the chance to work in their native place," he added.
The Supreme Court Collegium had proposed the transfer of Justice Chaudhuri to Patna High Court on August 3.
However, a request by Justice Chaudhuri for reconsideration of the proposal was refused by the Collegium and it reiterated the recommendation for his transfer on August 10 and the gazette notification of his transfer to the Patna High Court was made on November 13.
The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud also consisting of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant had proposed his name for transfer for better administration of Justice.
Justice Chaudhuri said during his five-year tenure in Calcutta High Court, he disposed of about 6,000 main cases and a similar number of applications.
"I may submit before you that in spite of the Covid pandemic and interruption in the court work during my years stay here I have collected the data from the register listing and computer, I disposed of about 6000 of main cases and a similar number of applications. So, I tried to deliver justice and tried to give relief to the litigant and that was my only motto," Justice Chaudhuri said.